Infectious Affections
by TeliAngle
Summary: As usual, Ichigo is trying to save the day and mantain her normal life. But what happens when Aoyama-kun breaks up with her and the aliens infect her with a strange serum? Find out!
1. After Farewell

**Um, so, this is my first fanfiction. Ever. Please be nice, ok? Flames aren't welcome.**

**Disclaimer:**

**The original story, Tokyo mew mew, was not written, created, or in any way conceived by T.A. All credit belongs to its creators. However, the plot line for Infectious Affections was thought of by T.A, and written by T.A. Please do not copy without permission. Thank you.**

Ichigo quickly ran down the road, blind to everything around her. She didn't know where she was headed just that she had to get away. But how could she hide? The truth is no less the truth because you aren't willing to face it. Sooner or later, she found herself in the park just as the sun began to set. Her parents would be worried, but she couldn't find room in her heart to care.

Though she wasn't quite sure if any of her heart was left. It had been shredded. Destroyed. Betrayed. She sank to the ground and fell into a fetal position. She tucked her knees to her chest and laid her head upon them. She let out a slow, shuddering breath, as one crystal tear carved its way down her cheek, soon to be followed by another, and another. Her shoulders shook with pent up emotions and the tears fell faster and faster. Damn him! Why did he do this to her? He knew she needed him! She cringed at the memory.

Flash back

'Yay! Aoyama-kun wants to see me! And he was so serious. Wonder what he wants to tell me?' All these jumbled up joys blended together as Ichigo made her way to the old cherry tree Aoyama-kun had showed her not long ago. She skipped happily over to it, and plopped down to wait for him. She didn't wait long. The second he crossed over the last hill she jumped up and dashed over to him, giving him a colossal hug.

"Aoyama-kun!" she cried cheerfully. She was surprised when he stiffened and pulled her off. This wasn't good. He had never rejected a hug before. Ever. "Aoyama-kun?" she asked warily. Something was dreadfully wrong.

"Ichigo, take seat." He said gesturing to bright green grass beneath the cherry tree. She sat down staring up at him in confusion and fear.

He heaved a sigh, and finally said, "Listen, I-I just can't handle having a mew for a girlfriend. I can't do it."

Ichigo stopped breathing. Stopped thinking. Even her heart seemed to stop beating. Aoyama went on to explain why he couldn't do it, how it wasn't her fault at all, but she didn't hear a thing. Not one single thing. Finally she asked, "So y-you're b-breaking up with m-me?" She looked at him, hoping against hope; he'd say it was just some mean trick. He didn't. Instead he nodded and walked away. She stared at where he left for a full ten minutes, wondering where she went wrong. Then she bolted up. She had to get away, and she had to get away _now_.

End of flash back

She didn't have a clue what to do with herself. She felt as if she might never be able to move again. Then it started to sprinkle, tears melding with the few drops of rain. A perfect end to a perfect day. Unknown to Ichigo, Kish was out looking to play with her again. He had been searching for her all day and was pretty disappointed. He let himself drop to the ground and tapped his foot against the concrete in irritation.

Where on Earth was she? It was like she'd been zapped off the face of the planet! He was just about to admit defeat, for the day, when he picked up some ragged sobs. His ears pricked in curiosity, as he fanned them out to hear the elusive sound better. He found it was coming from behind a small brick wall that surrounded the park. He cautiously floated to it and peered over. He was shocked to see his kitten, soaking wet no less, crying her heart out in the mud. He ran right over to her and dropped to his knees before her.

"Ichigo?" he asked, voice slightly strangled from worry. She raised her head, inch by painful inch to look at who had disturbed her. When she locked eyes with him, her first reaction was to hide how weak she was, but she decided she didn't have the energy. Let him kill her. She really couldn't care less.

She let her head drop back to her knees as she gave a muffled, "Go away Kish, I don't have the energy to fight you."

Kish's eyes widened in astonishment. She never ever, _ever_, let him go without a fight.

"What happened?" he asked. He didn't know why, but suddenly his heart was cloaked in fear, and… anger. How DARE someone hurt her! She could feel his gold eyes burning into her head. Why should she tell him? He just thought she was some toy! Aoyama-kun was to only one who really had ever loved her but he…left. With that thought, another ragged sob forced its way out of her throat. The second Kish heard the muffled sound he grabbed her shoulders and forced them up, making her twist out of her shuddering huddle to stare at him eye to eye.

"What happened?" he asked again, though this time in a growl. As her blurry brown eyes met his molten yellow, she let the dam break. Later she never could have said just why she told him. Maybe because he was the closest shoulder to cry on or maybe she knew he'd make her once love miserable for this, who knows? But for whatever reason, she poured out her heart and every spec of it.

"I-it's Aoyama-kun." She cracked out. She barely noticed how Kish stiffened.

"He…he..." she trailed off.

"He what?" Kish hissed in fury.

"He… oh god, he dumped me!" she finally screeched, tears pooling around her. "He just abandoned me, and I don't know what to do! It feels like I've got a bullet in my heart, like everything good in my world just got thrown out!" she sobbed louder and louder, and her voice became a keen wail.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" she asked shoulders shaking. "What do I _do_?"

Kish looked at the small girl helplessly. He couldn't think of anything rational to do, so he flowed on his instincts. He leaned toward her, and in a blink had given her a sweet kiss.

He then gathered her in his arms and murmured soothingly to her, "Don't worry Ichigo. If that tree hugger can't protect you, _I_ will." He hardly realized what he was saying; just that he knew it to be truth.

She looked up at him, though still cradled to his chest, in amazement. "Y-you will?" she asked in wonder.

"Definitely!"

"Why?" Now it was his turn to stare at her in amazement.

"Why'd think? I love you, you silly pretty kitty." She blinked in shock at this revelation, and then started to giggle. Something she thought she would never do again. Kish stared at her in confusion as small giggles burbled up.

"What's so funny?" he asked, totally lost.

"_You_!" she said putting a finger on his nose. "You're the only person I know who can see me completely soggy, covered in mud, and tears streaming out my eyes, and still say I'm pretty!"

He quirked and eyebrow at her which only made the situation seem more comical. "Well," he said letting her go, "If you're gonna laugh at me I might as well go."

He stood up and prepared to teleport, when Ichigo's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Kish, wait!" she yelled pulling herself up.

"Hmm?" he started to turn back to her, but didn't get far. Ichigo had run to him and she yanked on his arm, causing him to lean towards her. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. When she drew back she was flushing furiously, and, for the first time in history, Kish was too. "Ah, um," she stuttered nervously, "Th-thanks Kish." she gave him a quick wave and ran off as fast as her feline genes would take her.

Kish gaped (the wide open, flies flying through kind of gape) at where she had just stood, eyes dilating with shock. He brought his hand to his face and gently ran it over where she had kissed him. He could still feel it resting on his skin as he smiled out to the night. "Don't worry Ichigo." He whispered. "I really will take care of you." And he meant it.


	2. Oops

Ichigo's alarm clock irritatingly bleeped over and over, louder and louder, 'til the sleepy cat-girl hit the off button. She slowly flipped over and stretched her hands high above her head and let out a huge yawn. Ah, Saturday. Now normally Ichigo wouldn't get up early on a weekend, but today was special. Today she had decided to do the unheard of and skip out on work to go on a hike.

Ryou would flip out, and she grinned at the thought. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and began to get ready. She quickly clad herself in an old T-shirt and worn jeans. As she leaped down the stairs, she paused to note the sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight. Perfect. She hummed as she grabbed a water bottle and headed for Black Ridge trail.

Now, one would assume with how clumsy Ichigo is, that she'd hate hiking, but not so. For some reason, when she was out of sight and sound she somehow found more confidence in herself. Her steps were sure and her mind was calm. As she felt her muscles contract beneath her all the thoughts that had been pursuing her, such as Kish's revelation and Ayoama-kun baling out on her, faded. There was nothing but pale green leaves and warm sunlight.

But on the matter of sunlight, as I'm sure you know, cats get sleepy in sunlight. Ichigo soon found herself craving a nap. So, she decided, why not? No one would see her here, it was a good spot. Soon she found herself cradled in the ancient roots of an old pine, asleep in mere seconds. Unknown to her, and pretty much anyone else, she had chosen to take her rest under one of Kish's favorite thinking spots (and yes, he does think).

And sadly for her he decided to visit it today. Ironic isn't it? He teleported to the spot, eyes slightly fuzzed as his mind wandered. He settled on a branch and the sharp scent of pine greeted him through the dark green haze. What exactly was causing him to actually use his brain? Really, it was the same train of thought that had been bugging Ichigo.

Only for him it followed the lines of, 'What in the name of Deep Blue possessed me to say _that_?' Of course he meant it, but good lord above! Who admits to their enemy they're in love with them? Pie was gonna kill him when he found out! Kish puzzled and puzzled over his predicament, but it appeared he had dug himself into a rut.

He growled out his confusion at the branch beneath him. He was so frustrated he was about hit his head against it to see if he could knock some sense into himself. As his gaze traveled farther down, it suddenly caught on a bright flash of red. Curious, he let himself drop quietly to the forest floor to see what it was.

And lo and behold it was none other than the object of his affections, Ichigo. 'What's she doing here?' he wondered. Ichigo snoozed on; totally unaware she was being observed. Kish floated closer 'til he was right in front of her still form. 'She looks so peaceful, so sweet, and so… cute!' He chuckled slightly at his thoughts. The more he watched her, the more he wanted another kiss. So, he took one (that's Kish logic for ya).

He slowly leaned forward and put his lips to hers. To his utter astonishment, she was kissing him back! I'm mean sure she was asleep, but still! She was kissing him! KISSING HIM! Believe me, if Kish could purr, he would've. Now Ichigo on the other hand, was just starting to wake up. She had just had the most amazing dream ever. She had been kissing someone, though she couldn't see who, and it was the most amazing kiss of her life.

She was reluctant to leave the dream, and the kiss, but when she awoke she found she was still kissing someone. She opened her eyes and blinked in confusion, and found herself looking at pale, pale skin, and forest green hair. And though her mind was scrambled from sleep, it didn't take long to put two and two together.

She was kissing Kish, (KISH!) and _enjoying_ it! Not to mention he was practically sitting on her lap to get it! Her next thoughts were something like, 'Ahhh! I'm kissing Kish! And I like it! Ryou's gonna kill me! What do I do? Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!'

If that ain't panic, I don't know what is. She let out a startled, "Mmph!" And quickly pushed him off, so fast actually, he did a few aerial summersaults. He regained his composure and floated into a criss-cross, with one of his smirks.

"I always knew you liked me. That was a very nice kiss, eh kitty?"


	3. Battle up!

"WH-what?" Ichigo stuttered as she jumped up to confront the smug alien. "What in heaven and hell do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like? I was kissing you of course!" he said with chuckle.

Ichigo's face turned strawberry red as she let out a feral hiss. Kish drew closer to her, and then grabbed her chin, which instantly froze her up.

"Hey, how 'bout another kiss?" he grinned.

"No way!" she screeched.

"Aww, come on! You liked the other one."

"I was asleep!"

"You still kissed me back."

"Don't make me kill you!" (**Evil laughter**) Kish pouted at her childishly.

"*Sigh* so feisty! I guess I'll just have to see ya tomorrow. By kitty cat!" He chuckled mischievously before vanishing.

"Baka!" she yelled after him.

_'That stupid, Baka, perverted, obsessed demon of an alien!' Ichigo mentally growled. How dare he take advantage of her! And why the hell did she enjoy that kiss? Arrrrrrrrgh!'_

Ichigo's plans to make Kish 'mysteriously' disappear were cut short when her cell phone started to belt out her Kiowa a la mode ring tone. She grabbed it from her pocket and flipped it open.

"This is Ichigo." She answered.

"ICHIGO WHERE ARE YOU!" Ryou's voice assailed her.

"As a matter of fact, I'm taking a hike." She replied, enjoying her boss' fury.

"What? You stupid Baka! Don't you know the aliens are attacking?"

Ichigo immediately stiffened up. "Where are they?"

"Near the Black Ridge area."

"Well you're in luck, I already happen to be over here."

"Hmmm, you might not be totally useless after all."

"Hey!"

"Just find the aliens and get rid of them." He said before hanging up.

"Oh that Ryou!"She seethed. "Ah well. Mew strawberry, metamorpho-sis!"

Ichigo's pendent started to give off a rosy glow, and her transformation began. In a few split seconds her attire had changed to a poufy, sleeveless pale pink dress, and burgundy boots and gloves. Her hair had changed to a candy hot pink, and out of her head popped two fuzzy black cat ears, which were soon followed by a twitchy black cat tail.

"For the sake of Earth, I'll be of service ~Nya!" she shouted (as usual). Soon her sensitive ears picked up a peculiar buzzing sound coming from her right. Figuring it must be her foes, she dashed strait for it. And she wasn't wrong. Soon an annoying, high pitched voice greeted her.

"Hey hag, how ya doing?" smirked the cheeky Tart.

"For your information, Runt, I was doing just fine before you showed up!"

"I am not a runt!"

"Midget, shortcake, shrimp, twerp!"

"Old lady!"

"Why you-!"

"Knock it off you two." Came Pie's monotone voice.

"Yea, whatever. Chimera Anima, Go!"

Out of nowhere four colossal humming bird Chimeras appeared, ready to take on the cat-girl. "Strawberry bell!" she summoned, calling out her heart shaped weapon. "Ribbon strawberry-Check!" A blast of pink energy radiated out of her bell, heading straight for the birds, but to her horror they merely deflected it. She fought valiantly to block the pests from reaching her, but eventually they got her cornered at a large oak. "Ribbon-"she started again but one of the Chimera sent her bell flying before she got the chance. 'Oh no!' she shivered, as she gasped for air on trembling legs.

"Face it hag, you're a goner!" Tart snickered with evil glee. And what he said was true. She was surrounded. It looked like our hero might not make it out alive.


	4. Strange Serum

Ichigo braced herself for impact, but when it finally came, it was not from the expected direction. For Pie had teleported behind the terrified mew, intent on his plan. Ichigo's ears caught movement behind her, but before she could turn to confront it, Pie grabbed the back of her neck, causing her to fall unconscious.

"What'd ya do?" Tart asked as Pie collected the still form.

"I grabbed the pressure point of her neck, causing her to pass out." Tart let out a snicker as they teleported home. "When she wakes up, she sure ain't gonna be happy!"

-A Short Time Later-

Ichigo slowly stirred. She was cold and felt stiff, and her nose was itching like crazy! But the weird thing was when she tried to reach up and scratch it, she couldn't move her arm. She opened her eyes and blinked in confusion at the sight that greeted her. It appeared she was strapped to a metal table in the center of a lab. A lab with very advanced technology.

"What the…" she trailed off when she noticed Pie working on a computer like system near her.

"Pie?" she asked curiously.

"Ah, you're up Mew Ichigo." He mused, turning slightly from his program.

"W-what's going on?" she asked, voice trembling ever so slightly.

"We're turning you into a science project." Giggled the alien pest a.k.a Tart.

Ichigo let out a gasp and began to struggle vainly against her bindings.

"Ah, ah, ah." Tart scolded, waving a finger in her face. "Naughty kitty! You can't get out you know."

"What? You mean I'm trapped like a rat?"

"Nah, a rat wouldn't be caught this easily. I'd say you're trapped like a, hmm, carrot!"

"Wouldn't a strawberry be more appropriate?" Pie injected, floating to join his younger counterpart.

"Well I think-."

"Would you stop talking about recreation, and lemme go?"

Ichigo hissed drawing their attention back to her. "I'm afraid that's not possible." Pie replied calmly. He reached over to a nearby desk of sorts, and grabbed a long needle filled with a neon green substance.

As he drew near to her, she let out a startled, "What the heck is that? Don't you dare come any closer with it, ya creepy long-eared cyboard!"

Pie flinched slightly at the insult, but kept coming. "If you hold still, it won't hurt too much."

"'Too much?'" she stared wide eyed. Not good. Not good at all. She kept writhing but, as little as she liked to admit, Tart was right. She couldn't get free. She froze and panted wide eyed as Pie stuck the needle in her arm. All a sudden she felt the overwhelming urge to sleep. Her eyelids slowly fluttered shut as she lost consciousness once again.


	5. Escape

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Hey, is she ever gonna wake up? You didn't kill her didja?"

"She shouldn't be dead. Besides, she's breathing." Ichigo let out a soft groan and opened her eyes. Before her stood both Pie and Tart. 'Déjà vu.' She thought.

Only something was different this time. She felt much stronger. Eerily strong. Like when she was Mew Ichigo, only more so. Oh, and another thing. She was mad. Really mad. She let out a growl, and began push against her bindings, and, shockingly, they offered her no resistance.

"Uh, Pie?"

"Amazing! It worked!"

"Pie?"

"I had no idea it would go over so well!"

"PIE!" Tart screeched.

"What _is_ it?" Pie asked with a barely contained sigh.

"SHE'S GOING TO KILL US!" he shrieked.

And he was right. Sort of. Ichigo _was_ pretty much ready to murder them, but she decided she should probably scat before they could do anything else to her. She shot off the table and skidded out the lab door at a break neck run. She subconsciously noticed her tail had popped out, and briefly wondered when it had come out. But no time to pursue that.

She hadn't the slightest clue as to where she was going; just that she somehow knew where she was headed. She then heard the faint sound of a teleportation portal opening up, to reveal she was running towards none other than Kish. 'Bingo' she smirked.

"Kish, stop her!" she heard Tart call behind her, but she was to intent on her goal of escape to notice. Now, I can tell you, Kish is not one known for quick reactions when startled, but the sight of his kitten racing in his direction was more than enough to motivate him. He reached down for her, but she was determined not to be caught. She jumped over his out-stretched arms, hopped on his head, and pushed down hard, propelling him into the ground and her out the portal.

"Ah, Ichigo, no!" he yelled making a grab for her hand, but she was already long gone. Sadly to say, her triumph was short lived. Why you ask? Well it just so happened that the warp hole was about ten feet above the ground. Not too great of a distance, but enough to freak her out a bit.

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she meowed franticly, just spinning around to make her landing by a hair. "Whew!" she sighed in relief, then looked up to see where she had landed. Surprisingly, she had landed in front of Café Mew. 'Better ask Ryou what happened to me.' She thought, making her way inside.

"Ry-ou!" she called. All her friends stopped working to look at her.

"Ichigo onee-chan!" Pudding cheered, throwing her arms around her pal's legs.

"Pudding?" Ichigo asked staring bemused down at the young mew. Soon she was tackled into a hug by Lettuce and Mint, too.

"W-what?" she stuttered, totally confused.

"You're back!" Mint cried.

"W-we were s-so worried!" Lettuce sobbed.

"Huh?"

"Ryou, she's back!" Mint shouted as she and Pudding dragged the still befuddled mew behind them. Ryou jumped up the stairs (literally. He took, like, five at a time) and raced over to her, to give her a huge hug. "Thank God you're ok!" he exclaimed, practically crushing her.

"Can't breathe!" she gasped, struggling to get free.

"What the heck's wrong with you?" she glared, still panting.

"Didn't you know?" Zakuro asked (more like stated) "You've been gone three days."

Ichigo gapped at her. "I…they had me out for… three days?"

"Who did?" Ryou asked, his eyes narrowing.

"The… aliens." Ichigo answered, though still numbed by shock. An angry murmur ran through the room like wildfire.

"How dare they!" Mint hissed.

Then she started to rant about what she was gonna do to them, but we'll skip that.

"They also gave me some shots." She mumbled, staring vacantly ahead. Ryou stiffened at this.

"We'd better scan you for any viruses." Ichigo nodded, and followed the blond leader.

"You'll need to stand in here for us to check out what happened to you." Ryou stated motioning to a large, Si-fi, like tube. Ichigo looked at the tube, then Ryou, then the tube again, and repeated the motion. Then she gave Ryou the 'are you out of your cotton picking mind?' look.

Ryou sighed. "Just do it." She eyed him nervously, but complied. The tube clicked itself shut, along with a flurry of bright red lasers. "Try to stay as still as possible." Ryou ordered. So Ichigo waited, and waited, and waited some more, until all the tests were completed. When she was _finally_ let out, she was so tired she was practically dead on her feet.

"What'd you find?" she asked with a huge, cat like yawn.

"I'm still getting results, go ahead and go home."

"Uh, going home might be a problem."

"Why?" Ryou inquired, glancing up from his data.

"My, err, tail won't go back in." She blushed.

"Have you actually _tried_ to get it to go back in?" He asked snottily.

"Yes!" she replied with exasperated sigh. She was tired and hungry and in no mood for jerky bosses!

"Just stay with Mint for a bit then."

"What'll I tell my parents? They'll freak! If they haven't already…" she trailed off.

"Oh, we'll just brainwash 'em. No biggie." Ryou flippantly replied, with an airy wave of his hand.

"Oh, right. _Great_ idea." Ichigo grumbled back as her sweat dropped. Looked like it was gonna be a long night…


	6. Problems

Ichigo woke up with a start. She gave a lost sounding mew as she tried to grip where she was. Then it hit her. Mint's house. Being kidnapped. Ryou. Her parents. She gave a sigh and flopped back down. Then she jumped back up with a hiss. She slowly rubbed her butt. Right. Tail popping out and sticking out too. Check.

She hurriedly pulled her tail out from under her, so as to not crush it any more than she already had. She sighed and slowly let her gaze wander. The alarm clock by the bed said it was four o' clock in the morning. Fantastic. She let her gaze stray farther, 'til it landed on a nearby mirror.

Yep, ears out too…wait a second! She did a double take. Yup. Her ears were most defiantly out. 'That's not good, not good at all.' She thought. 'Why are all my appendages popping out?' she frowned, and flopped back on the bed. Maybe Ryou would be able to tell her later on.

-Few hours later-

"So… What'd you find?" Ichigo asked as she made her way into the Café basement.

"Well, I've got good news, and bad." Ryou replied. "The good is I found that the aliens gave you a serum in attempt to make you, to a degree, controllable, and a good deal stronger. However, your cat DNA is combating these effects, therefore causing you ears and tail to pop out. They should go back in soon."

"Ok. Not exactly what I call good news, but ok."

"Now for the bad news. For some reason or other, the conflict between your DNA and the serum is going to make you act a little strange around males."

"What do you mean?"

"Erhm. Well from what I've gathered, the hate you've held against particular guys, me and Kish for instance, is going to turn into affection. For example, the fact that you have been hugging me for half of this discussion. Not that I mind of course…"

Ichigo looked down, and sure enough, she had her arms slung around his shoulders, and was cradling his head to her chest. Her face flushed red as she quickly back pedaled with a squeak. Somehow she had walked across the room and not even noticed it!

"Oh no!" she cried. "I don't even hate you that much, what am I gonna do when Kish shows up?"

"Well, you're going to have to practice some extreme control over yourself. And you're petting my head."

Ichigo let out startled mew and quickly removed her hand from his head. Oops. Just as she was about to stutter some apology, Mint hurtled down the stairs with a, "The aliens are attacking!" Ryou and Ichigo shared an 'oh dear' look. Uh oh.

A few minutes before in the alien's spaceship….

"So, will we be able to control her now?" Tart asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, no." Pie replied. "Her DNA and stubbornness were both stronger than I suspected."

"So what we gonna do?" Kish asked, peering at his elder.

"You are going to launch an attack at the mews." Was Pie's response. Kish gave him an inquisitive glance, but complied. The second he vanished, Tart turned back to Pie.

"What are you hiding from him?" he inquired. Pie's eyebrows rose at the young alien, mildly surprised he could have such perception. "Something that I'm sure will make Kish very happy…"


	7. Maybe you want a kiss?

The transformed Mews dashed to confront the annoyingly upbeat alien, and his dog Chimera Anima. As usual, the girls headed for the Chimera, and Ichigo was forced to deal with Kish. 'Great!' she thought. 'All I need is for him to get close to me, and I'm a goner!' It was at times like this she really wondered if Kish could read her mind. He casually floated closer to her, his typical smirk in place. "Hi honey! Long time, no see!" he chuckled. But Ichigo hardly heard what he said. It was taking all her will power to just not pounce on him! Suddenly, she felt her body take over. 'NOOOOOOOOOO!' she silently screeched. But sadly, she lost control. Before she could think twice, she had launched herself at Kish and wrapped her arms around his waist. This startled Kish, so, of course, he lost altitude. He sat down hard on the pavement, Ichigo straddled between his legs, and stared down in wonder. Ichigo was hugging him, purring no less, and was snuggling into his chest OF HER OWN FREE WILL! To say he was shocked would've been the understatement of the century. Now Ichigo's new, love those you hate, serum had totally taken over. She was out of control entirely. But the weird thing was she didn't _care_. Being this close to him made her all giddy and light-headed, and so, so warm. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was still trying to resist, but the majority was in bliss. She vacantly noticed how well she fit in this position. Perfectly. Those thoughts where cut short by, "Cripes kitten, maybe you want a kiss?"

Ichigo went ridged as her sane mind took over, and she realized just what she was doing. She let out a small yelp and pushed him away.

"Oh man!" she panicked. "It's worse than Ryou predicted! Whaa!"

"What is?" Kish asked, tilting head to the side.

"Well..." she started, pulled in by his cuteness, "No wait! Don't think about that!" she scolded herself, then to him said, "There's no way I'm telling you what happened!"

Kish looked like he was trying not to laugh. "Aww, please tell me!" he whined, making huge puppy dog eyes.

Ichigo gulped. He looked so adorable! "Argh!" she yelled "Stop looking at me like that! You're not helping any!"

Kish looked at her intently. "Please kitten, what is it?"

"If you must know," she began as the serum took over, "I really want you to kis- eek!" She slapped at hand over her mouth, but far too late. Kish had gotten that predatory look on his face, and he slowly inched forward. Ichigo gulped.

"What did you say?" he asked quietly, his golden eyes so intently focused on her it almost hurt.

"N-nothing." Ichigo whispered. She had never seen him so _focused_.

"That's not what sounded it like." Kish said, now mere inches from the frozen mew. "In fact, it sounded like you wanted me to kiss you."

Ichigo couldn't say anything. She felt like she was being drawn into an abyss. She had no clue whether to be frightened, or entranced. He was so close. That deadly creature was so darn _close_! Soon he was a just a hair away, his nose touching hers.

"If you want me to, I will." His eyes still held her captive, immobile, just out of grip. "You know how much I want to make you mine."

He covered those last few centimeters faster than anyone would have thought possible. He crushed his lips on to hers, with such passion and desire, it blew her away. The force in which he kissed her knocked her to the ground, and soon he was in a dominating position. 'So intense.' Ichigo thought hazily. 'Has he always kissed me like this?' Then something hit her. She needed air, and she needed it NOW. She put her hands to his chest, trying to ignore how nice they felt there, and pushed hard. He wouldn't budge. She started to beat her hands against him, futilely trying to get some air. She finally managed to get him off her, just as she felt she was going to faint. She gasped in oxygen greedily, coughing as it hit her lungs. Then she heard her friends calling her. Before Kish vanished, a look crossed his face. Then he was gone.

"Ichigo!" Lettuce called, running to the fallen leader.

"You okay onee-chan?" Pudding asked.

All she could manage was a nod, for she was thinking of the look on Kish's face when he left. It was one she knew, and knew well. The thought of it made her tremble, though with fear or anticipation, she couldn't tell. She knew the look to quite clearly state one thing. 'Mine'.


	8. It went wrong

Pie allowed himself a smile. 'Ahhh. Kish is out, and Tart is busy. I can finally get some research done. Nothing but peace and quiet.' Tart burst into the room screaming, "PIE!"

Pie sighed, and had to resist the urge to hit his head on his keyboard. So much for _that_ idea.

"Yes Tart?"

"Something's really wrong with Kish!"

Pie perked at this. "What is really wrong with him?"

"He's perky!"

Pie raised an eyebrow. "He _is_ always unnaturally happy." He pointed out.

"But that's the problem!" Tart panicked "He's not _just_ happy, he's down right giddy! When I told him it was his turn to do dishes he didn't whine or anything. In fact, he started singing! SINGING!"

Pie's eyes widened. That _was_ something. Looked like his experiment had way, way wrong.


	9. Poor girl

"Hey Ichigo." Ryou called as the young waitress bustled about taking orders. "Yes Ryou?" she asked as she put away a now empty tray. "I need you in the basement. Pronto." Ichigo looked mildly surprised, but nodded and followed him down anyway. As she caught up to him in the lower levels of the Café, she paused to ask, "What's up?" Ryou took his seat in front of his computer and Ichigo came to stand behind him.

"Ryou?" she asked again.

"I think I found a way to cure this shot you got." Ryou stated, getting strait to the point.

"Really? How?"

"Well, this going to sound kind of corny, but, you need to give a true love's kiss."

"True love's kiss? Like in the old fairytales?"

"Exactly."

"How do I get a true love's kiss? Aoyama-kun's gone!"

"Actually, you have to _give _the kiss, not _get_ the kiss."

"Nani?"

"This is how it works. You find the guy you're really in love with, no serum involved, and you have to kiss him. _Really_ kiss him."

"Then it's hopeless! I'm not in love with anyone!" '_Except maybe Kish…_' she thought.

"I guess you'll be stuck like this for a while then."

Ichigo gave defeated nod and headed up the stairs. Ryou watched as she made her way to the main floor, tail dragging. Poor girl.


	10. Sudden Sickness

Ichigo stared blankly at her ceiling. She needed to get up, she knew she had to, but she couldn't move. Her whole body was sore and it felt like it was a hundred degrees in there. Even her tail was hot. 'C'mon Ichigo!' she mentally encouraged herself as she attempted to get up. 'You can do this!' She slowly stood, but was on her feet no more than five seconds before her legs gave way.

As she hurtled towards the ground she braced herself for the impact that was bound to come. But it never did. Instead she found herself caught by strong, lean arms. She looked up to see Kish's worried face.

"Ichigo?" he asked, voice cloaked in concern.

"K-Kish?" Ichigo whispered.

Then she realized what probably happened. When her knees buckled, he must have scooped her up before she hit the floor, and was now holding her bridal style.

She tried to struggle against his grip, but he just tightened his hold on her. While she squirmed, he noticed how weak her resistance was. He flew to her bed and laid her down. He brought his hand to her forehead as she watched him through wary, half-closed eyes. The moment his hand touched her brow, it shot back as he let out a hiss. She was burning up! Ichigo tiredly reached back up for his hand and put it to her cheek.

"Ichigo?" he asked, confused by the action.

"It's cold." She mumbled.

Then it hit Kish. She must be sick. Very sick. He slowly broke his hand from her grasp as he fought down panic. 'Ok Kish, calm down. You won't be able to help her if you lose it' he told himself as he forced his lungs to take in deep breaths. 'First, find out how high her temperature is. Then cool her down. Work from there.'

He quickly turned from her bed and began to head out the bedroom door, when he heard a feeble, "Kish?"

He turned around. "Yes Ichigo?"

"You aren't leaving, are you?"

Kish gave her an uncharacteristically soft smile. "No Ichigo. I'd never leave you."

Ichigo nodded and watched him disappear out the door. While Kish whizzed through the kitchen gathering up supplies, he was struck by a new sense of determination stronger than any he'd ever had before. He _had to_ make sure Ichigo recovered. But he was no doctor… Kish quickly shook that thought off. Worry when we get there. He hurriedly flew upstairs with his collection, a wash cloth, a bowl of cold water, some promising looking medicine, and a thermometer, and set them on Ichigo's nightstand. "Ichigo." He called quietly. Her eyes fluttered open to stare at him. It scared him how empty they looked, but he didn't let it show in his voice.

"Ichigo, you need to sit up. I've got take your temperature." Ichigo nodded and slowly attempted to push herself up. She looked like she was going was going to crumble at any second. He quickly arranged himself between her and the headboard, positioning her so she was leaning back against his chest. This would give him good access to her, and keep her from falling over. He grabbed the thermometer and slipped it under her tongue. She looked like she was fighting to stay awake. When the thermometer bleeped and Kish took it out, it hit him he didn't know what temperature humans _should_ be at. "Ichigo, what is your normal temperature?" He couldn't be sure, but it sounded a lot like she said '96'.

He looked at the thermometer and drew a sharp breath. It said she was 102 degrees. He was no expert on human health, but even he knew that wasn't good. What should he do? Once again, Kish had to try desperately to stave off panic. First, get rid of the fever. Kish began to lower Ichigo back down to her bed, but she clung to his shirt.

"Can breathe better this way." She told him, erupting in a small fit of coughs.

"Ok." Kish agreed.

He reached over and snagged the now damp wash cloth and laid it across her brow. She let out a whimper and tears gathered in her eyes. Though the water was only lukewarm, it felt like ice to her. Then Kish did something that, if Ichigo had been fully conscience, would have caught her by surprise. He started singing.

Ichigo smiled slightly. He had such a nice singing voice. It was surprisingly deep for his lanky figure, but quite soothing. Ichigo liked the way his chest rumbled as his voice rolled out. So warm and comforting.

Ichigo started to fall asleep at this point, lulled by his gentle song. For the second time that week, Ichigo wondered, 'Has he always been like this?'

Kish looked down to see that the sick girl had fallen asleep, a slight smile playing on her face. He started stroking one of her silky cat ears, and couldn't help but smirk when she started purring. What he would give for her to always trust him like this. Not that he'd really given her much reason to. Kish frowned slightly at this, but let it go.

"Maybe this will help me win you over, ne, kitty?" he asked the slumbering cat girl.

He laid his head on top of hers deciding to get some sleep. He might not get a lot of it in the up-coming days. But sleep was far from coming, and when it did, it was dark and dreamless.


	11. Time to get help

Kish was brought abruptly awake by harsh coughing. He was briefly disoriented, but what happened yesterday hit him like a bolt. He turned Ichigo into his chest and slowly rubbed her back in hopes to soothe her coughing fit. When she finally stopped, she lifted up her head to see what, or rather _who_, was holding her. As she raised her brown eyes they instantly locked on two bright gold ones.

"Kish?" she asked, mildly startled.

"The one and only." He grinned.

She blinked, then slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Forgive me for being rude," she started, "but what are you doing in my bed and why are you holding me?"

Oddly enough, she was extremely calm.

"Don't you remember?" he asked.

Ichigo stared at him for a long moment, then a blush started to creep up her neck. Kish snickered slightly.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Ichigo looked like she was about ready to give him a piece of her mind when her stomach let out a muffled roar. She burned red all over again.

"Well," Kish sighed, "I'd personally love to keep you on my lap all day" Ichigo looked ready to rip off his ears "but I suppose I better feed you so you don't starve."

Ichigo crawled off her spot on his lap, quite reluctantly for some reason, as Kish stretched out and hopped off the bed. Ichigo was more than prepared to follow him, but he just pushed her back to the bed when she tried to get off.

"Sorry kitty, but you'll never get better if you go running around."

Ichigo was going to protest, but she never got the chance. Kish had dropped to his knees, and was now, as per usual, kissing her.

He ended it and asked her, "You want a second dose?"

She shook her head no, though the serum was telling her yes, yes, yes!

"Then stay put." He ordered.

She nodded. As he made his way to the kitchen she flopped back down on her bed, her face still flushed. Her heart was pounding a million miles per hour. She couldn't help giggle a little. That kiss felt absolutely great. She soon heard him thump thumping up the stairs. She quickly sat up and wiped the silly grin off her face. He didn't need know about _that_. A delicious scent wafted into her as he returned. Him and a wonderful bowl of Ramen. Hurrah for instant noodles! Ichigo let a smile come over her face as she held out her hands in a 'Gimme, gimme!' stretch.

"Oh no you don't." Kish said keeping the bowl out of her reach.

Ichigo lowered her arms and cocked her head to the side. Wasn't the food for her? Kish grabbed her desk chair and pulled it to her bedside. He forked a bit of the food and held it in front of her nose.

"C'mon kitty, I'll feed you!"

Ichigo looked from the food to his smiling face. Food or dignity, food or dignity?

"You're a pain in the neck, you know that?"

"I do try hard!"

She gave a slight huff, then leaned forward to grab the bite. It was fantastic! And for some reason, having him feed her made her feel all light and heady. Ichigo crouched closer to the alien boy in attempts to get more food.

"Greedy, greedy!" he chuckled.

But he didn't seem to mind all that much. Actually he looked quite happy. Soon Ichigo was on her last bite. But one of her noodles was really long and hung just above her chin. She was about to slurp it up when Kish leaned forward and bit the end, finishing it off.

He licked his lips and winked at her saying, "Not too bad, huh?"

"N-not to bad at all." Ichigo whispered as she looked down to hide her blush. She looked up and smiled. A nice, sweet smile.

"Thanks Kish." She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Now this wasn't the first time she had done such, so she had no idea what happened a moment later. Kish fell right out of his chair.

"Kish!" Ichigo called, leaning over the side of her bed. "Kish, are you ok?"

Kish was just sitting there on the floor, one arm and one leg still awkwardly hanging off the chair, gazing at her in a state of shock. Then he started laughing. Ichigo stared at him, ears twitching in confusion.

"Man, I never thought I'd live to see this day!" he chuckled. He seemed almost hysterical.

"What do you mean?"

"I was just **feeding** you and you **thanked** me."

"Would you prefer I hit you? 'Cause I'd be more than happy oblige." Ichigo stated, folding her arms across her chest.

Kish shook his head. "Nah. You're better like this!"

He grinned up at her, and she was about smile back, when a sudden pain racked her body. She let out a strangled gasp as she curled in around herself. She heard Kish call her, but it was like hearing through a thick haze. Lightning danced through her veins, doubling her agony tenfold. It was so dark. . .

"Ichigo!" Kish yelled pulling her out of the ball she was curled into. She looked at him, but he could tell her eyes were unseeing. She was radiating heat like crazy again, too. He needed help, and he needed it _**NOW**_! So he went to the person he always went to when he was desperate for help. Pie. But would he help an enemy?


	12. Wish I could say

'Ok' Pie thought '_this _time I'll get some research done!'

"Pie!" Kish's voice hailed him sharply.

'Or not.'

Pie span his chair around (yes, he has a swivel chair) with a slight sigh.

"What do you want no-" Pie stopped short. He blinked. Then blinked again to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. They were not. What sight, you may ask, was so terribly surprising to him? I'll tell you. Before him stood Kish. Not very odd, certainly, but let me finish. What took him off guard was what the young alien boy was holding. It was the cat-girl, Ichigo, their sworn enemy. And she did not look well (way to state the obvious, huh?). And Kish, Kish looked very serious, for once in his life. Deadly serious.

"Kish?" Pie asked, a puzzled expression still fixed in place.

"Pie, I need your help. Something's dreadfully wrong with Ichigo. I-I think she might be dying."

Pie blanched. Kish never, ever, asked for help. Not unless he was desperate. Was that what compelled him to walk across the room and take the small girl from him? Or was it how the poor teen's legs were shaking? Maybe, just maybe, it was even how helpless Ichigo looked. Who can say? But he did take her. He scooped her from Kish's arms and walked into another room not far away. He slowly lowered her to a metal table, noting how Kish winced when she gave grunt of pain, and attached electrodes to her arms, legs, and hips. After he checked they were in the correct places, he walked over to and began to boot a hovering, glass-like sheet suspended a few feet away. While it started up, Pie glanced over to see that Kish had come to stand by Ichigo, and was slowly stroking her hand. Kish caught his gaze and held it.

"You're going to save her, right Pie?" He asked.

Pie looked away. How could he answer that? Kish floated to him grabbed the front of his shirt roughly, his eyes flashing.

"Answer me, damn it! You have to help her! Have to! I-I don't think I can live without her. I . . . I can't . . ." Kish was now clinging to his shirt, his body trembling all over. He looked as if he would breakdown crying any second. He had never looked quite so small. This caused Pie to do a very non-Pie thing. He moved Kish into a slight hug.

"Don't worry Kish; I will do what I can."

"But will it be enough? Will it?"

"I wish I could say . . . I honestly do."


	13. Results?

Pie stared at the screen before him, lost in thought. What the hell was he doing? Ichigo and her friends were the one thing standing between him and world domination, yet here he was, doing his best heal their leader. Why? Pie had never been confronted with a question he couldn't answer, so this befuddled him to the extreme. And it just brought more unanswerable questions to his mind. Like why did Kish tremble at the thought of this girl dying? This wasn't how one acted around a 'toy'. And Tart… Tart tried hard to hide it, but he obviously felt something towards that Pudding girl.

Was what those two were feeling the same thing that made him hesitate to strike the fish-girl, Lettuce, down? What was happening to them? Their mission was falling apart, all for the sake of some girls?

Pie frowned. What would Deep blue-sama say? And their families… they'd be so disappointed. So why, why did he not just finish this once and for all? Certainly Kish would hold it hard against him, but what else was holding him back? What on bloody Earth was making him do this?

Suddenly, a flashing red light lit his screen. Obviously the scan was complete. He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind, determined to deal with them later. He let his deep violet eyes scan the diagnoses before him. What he read shocked him to the point of taking a sharp breath. Kish's head whipped up to stare at him with slightly crazed eyes.

Pie gulped. For the first since leaving home, he felt a cold twinge of fear. Kish would not forgive him this reading, not for a long, long time. That is, if he didn't kill him first.

Kish's head whipped up at the sound of Pies' sharp intake. He must have found out something about Ichigo!

"What did you find Pie?" he asked, crazed with sudden hope.

Pie took a slow, calming breath. Kish just looked on in confusion.

"It is the serum." Pie said in a strong, calm voice. "The readings are, to a degree, unclear, but this is what I have found. I trust you already know that the control shot we gave her reacted weird to her DNA, causing her to be more affectionate than usual?"

Kish nodded.

"Well, it seems there's more than that. While it's true that she will react more sweetly to certain males that she usually hates, me and Ryou for instance, her reaction to _you_ is different."

"What do you mean?" Kish asked, wetting his now dry lips. Was this his fault?

"I'm afraid it is complex to explain. It would seem that Ichigo actually has some real feelings for you, no serum involved. Yet, at the same time, she still harbors some hatred towards you. This has caused the serum and her emotions engage in some sort of war over her body, war between true affection and false.

"Unfortunately, her body cannot endure the tension of her conflicted feelings, for while humans' emotions are quite potent, their bodies are terribly fragile."

"D-does this mean…?"

"Yes, it means that if we cannot get her to admit her true feelings for you, she may very well die."

Kish's breath froze in his throat. No! It couldn't be! He shook his head in defeat. There was no way she would ever admit liked him, let alone _**loved**_ him. He had seen her fight him off before. She could be quite stubborn at times, totally unmovable if she wished it, and he had always admired her for that. But now it looked as if it would do her in for.

Kish had not noticed that Pie had gotten up until he grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly.

"Breathe, Kish." He ordered. "_Breathe_."

Kish took a shuddering breath and looked up. As he did so, he felt something wet and hot slide down his cheek. He was crying.

"Now stop that." Pie ordered sternly. "We have precious little time to mope."

Kish blinked at him in surprise. "You think we can save her? How! It's so hopeless…." Kish sighed.

"Listen," Pie said, "if living on that ice incrusted rock we like to call home has taught me one thing, it is that there is always hope. I have some medicine that will reduce her fever for a bit. It should give you enough time to win her over."

"How?" Kish asked.

"Do as you always do. I will be back."  
As Pie began to leave, Kish asked him a question that stopped him in his tracks.

"Pie, it's not that I don't appreciate this or anything, but why are you helping me?"

A shaky sigh racked his form. He turned around, his head slightly bent so his purple-gray hair obscured his eyes.

"I have asked myself that many times." He responded. "And I have yet to find an answer." With that he set off at a brisk pace.

Kish turned back to his kitty, who had managed to stay in a fitful sleep the entire time. He slowly reached out to stroke her soft cat ears, feeling a dry smile come over his face as she let out a slight purr.

"Guess we're all getting what we thought we could handle tested, eh Kitty?"


	14. Chloe

**T.A: Time to meet my other character! And yes, she is mine. NO stealing!**

Ichigo felt herself wandering through a dark haze. The air was heavy and hot, making her near choke at every breath. Through the swirling black mists, she saw a tall figure which was steadily approaching her. She squinted slightly in an attempt to see through the haze better. She gave a start. The person coming towards her was none other than… herself! Except… at the same time she terribly different.

The girl approaching her had the same fluffy chin-length hair, but it was a dull, despairing gray. The eyes that would normally been a charming pink were now a bloody red, and her mew uniform had become black and torn to bits. Her boots were worn and her ears and tail had lost their silky sheen. And on that pale white face was an awful, nasty smirk that gave Ichigo the chills.

Her other self was quite intimating, to say the least.

"Who, who are you? And how did you get here?" Ichigo whispered.

Her other's smirk widened.

"I'm you." She sneered. "Or at least, what's going to be left of you. You can call Chloe if you like. And as for how I got here, you can thank that serum."

Ichigo frowned. 'Ok!' she told herself. 'You're Mew Ichigo, time to get bold!'

She stood as tall as she could. "What do you mean, Chloe, that you're me? Last time I checked _**I'm**_ me."

Chloe scowled at this.

"You used it be in control, but now I'm taking over!" she hissed.

Ichigo's frown increased. "Sorry freak, but I won't let that happen."

A surprised look crossed over her face, soon to be replaced by irritation. "Ha! You think you've got a choice? This is your subconscious, my domain, and you'll do as I say!"

Ichigo pulled a grimace. "Geez, you sound like Kish!"

Chloe grinned.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" she informed her.

"Whatever." Ichigo said with a wave of her hand, doing a perfect 'Ryou indifferent' impression. "I'm out 'a here. Bodies to find ya know."

Chloe let out a growl and appeared in front her. "Sorry chick, you're not going anywhere!"

Hot iron chains rushed out of the ashy ground beneath her feet, wrapping around her thighs, wrists, and chest tugging her to the ground in a heap. She cringed slightly as the uncomfortably warm metal pressed hard against her skin.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to stay here for a bit." Chloe smirked. "But don't worry; I'll take good care of your boyfriend."

Ichigo starred at her. "Masaya?"

Chloe snorted. "No, not that dork. Kish! You know, the green haired handsome fellow?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ichigo blushed.

Well then," she smirked, "you won't mind if I take him."

She let out a weird cackle and slowly began to fade.

"Wait!" Ichigo cried, "What are you going to do?"

Chloe continued to fade more, leaving Ichigo only with, "I'm going to get the boy you never deserved!"

Ichigo slowly laid her head on the sooty ground as helpless tears began to fall.

"Please Kish, be alright." She murmured, hoping somehow he could hear her.


	15. More shots

Kish watched as Ichigo's eyes steadily began to open.

"Pie! She's up!" he yelled.

He blinked in surprise as her eyes briefly flashed an alarming shade of red. He shook his head. 'Nah must've just miss-seen.'

"Water!" she croaked feebly, pawing at the air.

"Yo, Tart! Get me some water!" he called over his shoulder.

He didn't want to leave her for a second, even for something as trifle as a drink. Ichigo turned her head and slowly raised her eyebrows.

"Kish?"

"Kitten, we've been over this. I'm helping you, remember?"

She grinned up at him.

"Of course I remember!" she cried, diving into his arms.

"Wha-?"

Kish stared down at her in confusion. She didn't seem to notice, in fact, she just crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his torso. Ichigo began rubbing her head against his neck, a long rumbling purr making its way out her throat. Kish was shocked (once again, way to state the obvious).

"Y'know if I didn't know the serum was making you do this," he sighed "this could be the happiest day of my life.

Ichigo paused her rubbing to smile up at him.

"Nothing's making me do this." She grinned. "I'm doing this 'cause I want to!"

"I wish that were true." He sighed again.

Just then Tart decided to make his appearance.

"Hey, Kish! I got your water! But next time if you-" he stopped short in the doorway, mouth hanging open. He looked at Kish than Ichigo, Kish than Ichigo.

"Oi!" he cried, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed. The glass he had been holding splintered on the ground with a crash.

"Hey, what is going on in here?" Pie growled, coming to the doorway himself.

Tart bolted up and dashed behind his legs. He pointed a shaky finger to where Ichigo was nuzzling Kish's neck. Pie's eyes bugged out slightly as he slowly began rubbing his temple.

"I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it was **this** bad."

"So," Kish sighed, "did you get that medicine?"

"Yes." Pie nodded, holding up a syringe.

Kish smiled and held Ichigo closer.

"Ok, Ichigo, I need you to hold real still, alright?"

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Pie needs to give you this shot." He replied.

Ichigo let out a growl. "I don't want a shot!" Her tail flicked agitatedly to-and-fro as if to prove her point.

"Sorry, kitten, but you need it."

"Wh-y?" she whined.

"Because of this." He said, pointing to her arms circling his waist.

Ichigo peered at where he was pointing, and then looked up at him, her face the pure picture of confusion.

"You don't _like_ me holding you?" she asked, obviously befuddled.

"It's not that I don't like it." He said. "I'd just prefer real affection."

"But it _**is**_ real." She told him firmly.

Kish smiled down on her, his heart about to break.

"I'd give a lot for that to be true, too."

Pie approached the two, eyeing Ichigo warily.

"This will sting a bit." He warned her.

She hissed and began to struggle wildly against Kish's grip. But sadly for her, he had a good grip. The more she struggled, the tighter he held her. Soon she was nearly being crushed.

"When did you get so strong?" she panted as he held her in an iron grasp.

Kish smirked at her. "When I found out there was a chance to pull some true affection out of you." He turned to Pie. "You better hurry up."

Pie nodded and began to advance again. Ichigo hissed at him furiously as her ears flattened against her head.

"Touch me and I'll bite you!"

Pie smirked slightly at this, and even Kish and Tart looked amused.

"Just hold still." He ordered.

Ichigo made to lunge at him, but Kish was still firmly holding her. He reached up a hand and, once again, began to stroke her fuzzy cat ears. Ichigo instantly calmed down and a blissful expression came over her face. Pie took the opportunity to inject this new fluid into her arm. The second he pulled it out, her back arched in pain as she let out hollow scream. Her eyes rapidly flashed red to brown, and her hair gray to red.

"Pie,_ what did you do?!_" Kish panicked as he watched the girl before him writhe.

"Calm down." Pie calmly replied. "She is fine."

"YOU CALL THAT FINE!?" Kish snarled. He looked liked he intended to rip Pie's heart out. Ichigo gave a slight moan and crumpled to the ground.

"Ichigo!"

Kish knelt before her and slowly shook her shoulder. She didn't respond. He scooped her up into his arms and tried again. "Ichigo?" Still no response.

"Pie!" Kish hissed, an insane look quickly covering his face as he turned to look at the elder alien.

He unconsciously tightened his grip on the cat-girl. She let out a slight whimper as her eyes fluttered open. Kish smiled in relief.

"Ichigo, you're _okay_!"

Ichigo whacked him over the head.

"Ouch!" Kish cried, dropping her. "What the heck was that for!?"

Ichigo pulled herself up, rubbing her still sore butt, and jabbed a finger in his still startled face.

"I'm the one asking the questions here, buster!" she seethed. "How did I get here? Where is here? Why were you holding me? What are _you_ doing here? And where is here? No wait, I asked that already…."

"Calm down Ichigo." Kish soothed. "And to answer your questions, in order, I took you here, my spaceship, because you were out cold, because I live here."

"O-kay… so _why_ am I here?"

"I told you already, 'cause I took you here!"

Ichigo sighed. Trust him to answer in the most abstract way. She turned to look at Pie.

"Can you give me an _understandable_ answer?" she asked.

Pie nodded and informed her of all that had passed. Ichigo let her head sink to her chest as she fell into deep thought. Here's what went through her mind:

_Now Kish knows I like him! I'm doomed!_

_I'm on the aliens' spaceship and I'm a prisoner until further notice…_

_I've got my body back, but what if Chloe comes back?_

_Should I tell them about Chloe? Oh what to do?_

_I'm hungry…._

"Yo, Ichigo! You in there?"

She came to, to realize Kish was waving his hand in her face. She reached out and caught his hand and pulled it down to stop the annoying motion.

"Of course!" she snorted. "Where else would I be?"

"Sorry." Kish apologized. "Just with all that's been going on…"

"I understand." She sighed.

Just then her stomach let out a long rumble. Ichigo's face heated up at the disturbing noise.

"Dinner time!" Kish agreed with a slight smirk. "Hey Pie, me and Ichigo are going to get some food."

"Very well. I will stay here and try to further our data."

Kish nodded and stood up. Ichigo began to follow his suit, but she had barely gotten to her feet when Kish scooped her up.

"Hey!" she hissed. "I can walk for myself just fine, thank you!"

"You kidding?" he laughed. "The last time I let you walk you nearly fell flat on your face!"

"Ahhh!" Tart giggled irritatingly. "Your clumsy persona precedes you!"

"God so help you if I ever find you alone…" she fumed.

He just stuck his tongue out at her, a gesture she soon returned.

"And they say _I'm_ childish!" Kish mused.

"_**You are!**_" Tart and Ichigo yelled at the same time.

"Yea, yea, whatever." Kish huffed turning out of the room and into the corridor.

"Seriously Kish, I can walk." Ichigo insisted as Kish twisted and turned in a dizzying sequence towards their destination. She was starting to become quite uncomfortable being pressed so close to his chest. She was sure her face was the envy of all tomatoes by now.

"Not on your life!" he responded firmly. "Why, what's the matter? Don't you trust me?"

"I wouldn't trust you to give me the time of the day!" she seethed.

For a second he seemed to cringe, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

"Sorry Kish, it's just… I hate this!"

"Hate what?" he asked his curiosity paving over his hurt.

"Being helpless like this! I mean, how would you take it if you could barely walk and you were in the hands of Ryou or Zakuro?"

"But Ryou and Zakuro don't care one bit about me. I care about you a lot."

Ichigo looked up to see he was looking away from her, but he had a slight blush staining his cheeks. The air around them suddenly got quite awkward so Ichigo asked the only thing she could think of.

"So does this mean I can't walk?"

"Exactly. Besides, we wouldn't want you running away from me again now would we?" he smirked.

"Possessive jerk." She grumbled. But for some weird reason, she was oddly flattered.


	16. Nap time

Ichigo slowly munched through the food Kish had given her. It wasn't human food, but it was pretty good. Not that she was going to tell him that… when she finally finished, she looked up to see Kish watching her.

"What?" she asked.

He smiled slightly. "Nothing. I was just noticing how pretty you are."

Ichigo blushed slightly, suddenly finding her plate extraordinarily fascinating. She hated when he was like this! She never knew what to say…

"It's been a long day. You tired?" Kish inquired.

Ichigo was about to deny it when a tremendous cat like yawn stretched from her lips. She quickly slapped her hands over her mouth, much to his amusement.

"I'll take that as a very firm yes." He snickered.

Her ears twitched back slightly in annoyance, but she held her tongue. Kish came around to her side of the table and began to pick her up, but she pushed him away.

"I'm feeling better now, I can walk for myself." She informed him.

He simply shrugged his shoulders and set off. Ichigo followed close behind. Soon she lost all sense of direction, all her senses confused. She suddenly stopped, turning from her guide. A small gasp escaped her. Just what had caught her interest? It was window. A window that looked strait onto her home world, Earth. From this height, it looked like a ball of sapphire, emerald, and gold all rolled into one. It looked so sharp and pristine, and so breath-taking beautiful. She soon became aware of Kish's presence beside her, but she couldn't wrench her gaze away from the sight that beholden her.

"Lovely, isn't it?"

Ichigo numbly nodded her head. It _was_. So lovely.

"Now I see why you want to take it from us." She mused, sadness creeping into her voice. "Our home's so sweet, yet so many can't see it. How I wish they could." Remorse for her kind flooded her heart.

"Well," Kish slowly replied, "I'm sure you know I'm no lover of humans, but I don't think they're all bad."

Ichigo turned to face him, surprise etched all over her face.

"What? Anyone can change. Perhaps you can teach them."

Ichigo looked on as the glow of the stars illuminated Kish's face. At that moment he looked so calm and kind. Then a thought tugged her mind, causing her mouth to unconsciously break into a small smile.

Kish raised an eyebrow curiously. Ichigo decided to answer the unasked question.

"It's funny" she said quietly, turning back to the window. "I ought to be scared right now, but I'm not. I'm not even worried."

She tilted her head to see Kish staring at her, a soft slightly blissful expression in his eyes. Little was she aware; she had unknowingly fulfilled one of his greatest wishes.

Kish turned away and once again began to make his way through the ship's maze, Ichigo reluctantly following. Her head was so full of fuzzy thoughts, that when he finally came to a halt, she banged right into him.

"Oof!"

Kish whipped around just in time to catch her before she crashed into the ground.

"My, my, doesn't this look familiar." He teased.

"Oops." She giggled nervously as he slowly lowered her back down. "Sorry about that."

"No sweat. I like holding you."

Ichigo hit him over the head, but he just laughed.

"Anyway," he said through the last of his snickers, "welcome to my humble abode."

Ichigo stepped through a door only to have her jaw drop in amazement. The room was bloody _huge_!

"Let me find you something to sleep in." Kish soon disappeared into another door that Ichigo assumed was a closet. While he dug around, she stared at his room. It was quite nice to say the least. The room was shaped much like an oval that intersected with a few smaller circles. In one curve was a queen size bed which was spread with murky green sheets and slightly paler pillows, and in another curve a desk. It was quite simple and made of something very similar to cherry wood. The top was covered in numerous papers that Ichigo could only guess what were.

The floor was paved with sandstone tiles and an occasional band of gold which twisted into some unreadable symbol. Ichigo turned to inspect the walls, to find them a complicated mired of pale, neon, and deep greens. There was every shade from grassy to ocean all kaleidoscoped together. And she eventually realized there were some odd brown vines creeping towards the ceiling.

"_Complements of Tart, no doubt."_ She thought.

Kish then made a reappearance, holding in his hand a pine green T-shirt. He tossed it to her and she automatically caught it.

"I think that should work." He said with a decisive nod.

"Um, what about pants?" she asked.

"_I'm _going to be wearing those." He replied. "You can change in there."

Ichigo turned to see he was pointing at yet another door.

"Unless" he smirked, "you want to change with me?"

"Don't be silly!" she hissed, the mere idea making her blush like crazy. "Jeez, you're such a pervert."

"Ah, but would you want me any other way?" he grinned.

She just let out an embarrassed humph, and stomped her way to the door, which soon proved it to be a bathroom. She slammed the door shut, and rapidly began to change, only to hesitate and bring the sleeping shirt to her nose. Why would she do such a thing, you might wonder? It was because her heightened senses had picked up a slight aroma that for some reason was very appealing. It smelled like cinnamon and summer nights, very pleasant, yet at the same time extremely masculine. Her tail wagged slightly at the scent. It was familiar… She quickly shook her head and began pulling the shirt down. When she finished tugging it into place she saw that it ended just above her knees. Not the ideal clothing to be stuck wearing in an alien space craft, but it would work.

She turned to call through the door, "Hey Kish, can I come out?"

"Sure!" was the cheerful reply.

She slowly opened the bathroom door, lest he be lying, and was greeted by an interesting sight. Kish was lounging on his bed in a pair of black pajama pants. But that wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was that his top half _was not clothed!_ Ichigo blushed for the millionth time. At this rate she'd be permanently pink… Yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from his well toned chest (so you know, just cause he's skinny doesn't mean he doesn't have any muscles. * fan girls swoon* oh good gravy…).

"See something you like?" he snickered.

Ichigo shook her head, fortunely breaking the spell. "'Corse not! And may I ask why you're only half clothed aside from perverse enjoyment?"

"Because you're wearing my shirt." He blatantly reminded her, pointing to the shirt she was now clad in.

'Ah, that explains the scent' she thought.

"So, err, where am I sleeping?"

Kish rolled to the side of his bed so his back was pressed to the wall and patted a spot beside him.

'Please don't say what I think you're going to say, please oh please oh please!' she silently begged.

"You're sleeping with me!"

'Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooo!"

Kish laughed at her face. "Don't worry; I won't do anything to you. C'mon." he once again patted the spot on the blanket.

Ichigo folded her arms over her chest. "How can you have such a big ship and only three bedrooms in the entire thing?"

"Hey, don't ask me! I didn't build it. Now let's go to bed. Worrying about you is tiring."

Ichigo gave Kish the demon eyes. No way in heaven or hell was she going to get in the same bed as him, nuh uh! Kish sighed.

"You leave me no choice!" he smirked then he vanished into thin air.

Uh oh, cue the alarms! Soon she found a pair of warm arms tangled around her waist. "Kish!" she shrieked, but he had already plopped her on the bed. He quickly hopped over her and settled on her other side, throwing his arm across her waist and snuggling into her back.

"Hey, I thought you weren't going to touch me!" she hissed.

"That was when you were willing to cooperate. Now shush and go to sleep." he murmured resting his head in the crook of her neck.

Ichigo mumbled something incomprehensible about ripping his ears off, then, seeing as she had no choice, settled down for a long sleep.


	17. Vanishing act

Tart quietly creped through the long shadows and into his team mate's bedroom. He switched to floating as to not make any more noise than necessary. Soon he was hovering right above where Kish and Ichigo were now resting. Sometime in the night she had rolled over and into Kish's chest without noticing, his arm still slung about her waist. Tart let out a slightly evil snicker as he pulled out a Polaroid camera. He slowly pointed it at the sleeping couple and, making sure to turn off the flash, took a shot. He then inched his way out to a spare computer and plugged the camera in. Oh what could he be up to?

_**Mew Mew Café at 3:01 p.m**_

Ryou blinked at his screen in surprise. "Hey guys, look at this!"

The mews quickly formed a half circle behind him.

"What is it?" Lettuce asked.

"We're getting a message from the aliens."

There was a sharp gasp behind him. He opened up the e-mail. In the e-mail was the picture Tart had taken along with a short note.

_Hey zoo crew!_

_I sent this just to show you that the old hag is safe. Which she is. No, Kish hasn't done anything to her. Yet. Oh, and Pie is set on curing her for some reason, so don't expect to see her, or us, anytime in the near future._

_Later!_

_Tart_

"WHAT!?" the mews screamed.

"Quick, we've got to save her!" Mint exclaimed.

"She sure looks happy." Ryou mused.

Everyone falls over Anime style.

Kish unhurriedly stirred. He was in that warm not asleep, but not quite awake half state. But some soft sound kept intruding upon his conscience. It was hushed, and yet at the same time quite persistent. He opened his eyes to find what the unfamiliar sound was coming from. It took a moment for his brain to register what his eyes happened to be seeing. Lying beside him was his precious little kitty. She was still sleeping soundly and calmly, her peaceful face undisturbed. Her crimson hair was tousled and teased to-and-fro in the typical bed hair style, with one raven cat ear resting on her cheek and the other cushioning her head. Kish soon realized that the noise that had wakened him was Ichigo purring. She seemed so content, and he was once again struck by how lovely she was. He couldn't help but to reach one clawed hand to brush over her soft smooth cheek. She mumbled some nonsense and burrowed deeper into him and the covers. He smiled, playing with one of her cat ears. He could get used to waking up like this. In fact, he'd kill to wake like this every morning. Ichigo's ear suddenly twitched away from his fingers. He looked down to see her face had crinkled into a slight frown. Curiously, he once again raked his nails over the base of now irritatingly flicking appendage. This time she uttered a slight cat-like snarl as her eyes snapped open. She glared at him.

"What?" Kish asked. "I thought you liked your ears scratched."

"You weren't scratching, you were clawing. Besides, I'm tired, I wanna sleep." Ichigo grumpily retorted.

The corner of Kish's mouth rose as he vainly tried to hide a smile.

"Grumpy much?" he asked.

She just scowled as her ears lay back farther.

"And anyway, how can you still be tired? It's been almost three hours."

"I don't know how much sleep your species needs to survive, but most humans need at least eight hours of good sleep to function. I haven't got that much sleep yet. I. Am. Tired!"

Now that she was awake, he could see the dark circles lining her eyes, and the exhausted, though angry, way she was holding herself. He also knew he was being kind of cruel, but he was having fun messing with her. After all, I wasn't like he was going to get many chances to again.

"Well, alright, I'll let you rest some more," Ichigo sighed in relief, "If you beg me to hold you while you sleep."

I swear to you, after that last comment Ichigo's face could've been compared to the devil's himself.

"I wouldn't ask, much less _**beg**_, for anything of the sort." She ground out, folding her arms.

"Then I guess you aren't getting any sleep anytime in the near future." He finished by giving her fluffy ear a sharp tug. She let out a slight yelp, but he held on.

"Okay, okay!" she squeaked. "Do what you want!"

"Nuh uh." He said, giving her ear another tweak. "Beg."

"Fine!" Ichigo took a deep breath to prepare her for what she had to do. "K-Kish will you please hold m-me while I sleep?"

The phrase came out easier than she had thought it would. Kish released her ear with a slight smile. He stretched out his arms and pulled the more than a little embarrassed mew to his chest, circling one arm around her shoulders and the other just below her hips.

"Sure, Ichigo." He breathed into her hair. "I'd love to."

She just huffed, looking mad. But her anger was short-lived when he began to rub between her shoulders, getting a slight mewl of pleasure out of her.

"Night kitty." Her crooned.

But she was already fast asleep.


	18. Wake up

Kish unhurriedly stirred. He was in that warm not asleep, but not quite awake half state. But some soft sound kept intruding upon his conscience. It was hushed, and yet at the same time quite persistent. He opened his eyes to find what the unfamiliar sound was coming from. It took a moment for his brain to register what his eyes happened to be seeing. Lying beside him was his precious little kitty. She was still sleeping soundly and calmly, her peaceful face undisturbed. Her crimson hair was tousled and teased to-and-fro in the typical bed hair style, with one raven cat ear resting on her cheek and the other cushioning her head. Kish soon realized that the noise that had wakened him was Ichigo purring. She seemed so content, and he was once again struck by how lovely she was. He couldn't help but to reach one clawed hand to brush over her soft smooth cheek. She mumbled some nonsense and burrowed deeper into him and the covers. He smiled, playing with one of her cat ears. He could get used to waking up like this. In fact, he'd kill to wake like this every morning. Ichigo's ear suddenly twitched away from his fingers. He looked down to see her face had crinkled into a slight frown. Curiously, he once again raked his nails over the base of now irritatingly flicking appendage. This time she uttered a slight cat-like snarl as her eyes snapped open. She glared at him.

"What?" Kish asked. "I thought you liked your ears scratched."

"You weren't scratching, you were clawing. Besides, I'm tired, I wanna sleep." Ichigo grumpily retorted.

The corner of Kish's mouth rose as he vainly tried to hide a smile.

"Grumpy much?" he asked.

She just scowled as her ears lay back farther.

"And anyway, how can you still be tired? It's been almost three hours."

"I don't know how much sleep your species needs to survive, but most humans need at least eight hours of good sleep to function. I haven't got that much sleep yet. I. Am. Tired!"

Now that she was awake, he could see the dark circles lining her eyes, and the exhausted, though angry, way she was holding herself. He also knew he was being kind of cruel, but he was having fun messing with her. After all, I wasn't like he was going to get many chances to again.

"Well, alright, I'll let you rest some more," Ichigo sighed in relief, "If you beg me to hold you while you sleep."

I swear to you, after that last comment Ichigo's face could've been compared to the devil's himself.

"I wouldn't ask, much less _**beg**_, for anything of the sort." She ground out, folding her arms.

"Then I guess you aren't getting any sleep anytime in the near future." He finished by giving her fluffy ear a sharp tug. She let out a slight yelp, but he held on.

"Okay, okay!" she squeaked. "Do what you want!"

"Nuh uh." He said, giving her ear another tweak. "Beg."

"Fine!" Ichigo took a deep breath to prepare her for what she had to do. "K-Kish will you please hold m-me while I sleep?"

The phrase came out easier than she had thought it would. Kish released her ear with a slight smile. He stretched out his arms and pulled the more than a little embarrassed mew to his chest, circling one arm around her shoulders and the other just below her hips.

"Sure, Ichigo." He breathed into her hair. "I'd love to."

She just huffed, looking mad. But her anger was short-lived when he began to rub between her shoulders, getting a slight mewl of pleasure out of her.

"Night kitty." Her crooned.

But she was already fast asleep.


	19. Chole, meet Kish

_**In the dark smoky spooky place…..**_

Ichigo looked around her, taking in the dark and menacing landscape.

"Ah no, not again!" she groaned, instantly taking in her surroundings.

"Oh yes again!" cackled a cheerful voice behind her.

Ichigo turned around with over-exaggerated sigh. "Don't you have anything better to do than kidnap me from my body?"

"Nope!" Chloe bluntly replied.

Ichigo shook her head mock despairingly as she rolled her eye towards the sky. "O-kaaay, not that it wouldn't be just _lovely _to get caught up again," Ichigo snorted sarcastically. "But I need to get back before Kish decides to do something to me."

"Oh, I'm afraid that's not possible."

Ichigo turned back to her other, to see her floating cross-legged and smirking like a cat playing with a mouse (all puns intended).

"And that would be because….?"

Chloe hopped from her suspended position, just to start fading, much like the previous time. "Guess." She snickered.

But Ichigo didn't need to guess. She knew.

Chloe slowly awakened into Ichigo's body. She looked around to see her current position. 'Perfect.' She smirked.

Kish awoke to the sensation of someone stroking his bangs from his face. The last person who had done that was his mother….Kish cautiously opened his eyes to see Ichigo fondly batting at his hair. She almost immediately noticed he had woken and drew her hand back.

"Morning sleepy!" she grinned.

All he could think of to say was, "Have you been eating cat-nip?"

"Of course not!" she giggled.

Kish blinked, trying to get his groggy brain to function properly. Last night she had been trying to kill him… Then him like bolt. He groaned, finally getting it.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, cocking her head.

Kish rolled onto his back with a sigh. "I just realized you must've been taken over by your Kish crazy side." He said sadly.

Ichigo looked confused.

"But I'm always crazy about you." She promised.

Kish smiled slightly. "If I could hear that from your other side I might believe it."

Ichigo frowned slightly at this. She slowly angled herself into a half dominating position (if you wonder what that looks like, imagine she has her left arm holding all her weight across his shoulders so that her upper body is somewhat aligned with his torso. Make sense?) so that she was looking in his eyes. She gently began stroking his cheek in a soothing motion.

"I swear to you, Kish, I'm not lying." Kish made no response, he just lay there getting lost in her eyes, and trying to ignore the stabbing pain he felt knowing that what he was seeing was nothing but fake emotion.

'It's not real!' he firmly told himself. 'Snap out of it!'

But he couldn't. This side still had her face, her eyes, even her smell. It was like he was stuck in one of his dreams, to see this side that seemed to love him so much. Like getting the one thing he always wanted from her. It was near driving him crazy to know and understand it was all a fake mask. Every bit of it.

"Kish." She whispered, running a finger along his ear.

She lowered herself closer to him, her face soon mere inches from his. I won't lie to you, he was tempted. Sore tempted to give in and take what he wanted most, but he couldn't, _**wouldn't**_. She'd never forgive him if he did. He pushed her away then sat up and turned his back to her.

"Kish?" Ichigo asked, obviously befuddled.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but I can't."

"Why?" she asked, scooting to sit by him.

Kish turned to face her. "Because everything you think you're feeling you aren't. You think you're in love with me, but what you're feeling is a serum induced lie."

He then pushed himself up to leave, but hesitated when he felt a hand attach itself to his wrist.

"I know." A soft voice whispered.

He twisted back to her, surprise clearly scrawled all over his features.

"I _know_ this is because of the serum." Ichigo continued, barely aware his focus was back on her. "Heck, to be honest, I'm not even Ichigo. My name's Chloe."

"What?" Kish asked sitting back down beside her.

She looked at him with a sad smile. "I said my name's Chloe. Believe it or not, I'm a girl that's been stuck in Ichigo's subconscious ever since we were born." She paused letting him take in the information. Then she continued. "I liked you from the very first time we met you. You seemed so passionate and brave and determined. I didn't want us to fight you, but Ichigo was so stubborn. Her ideals got in the way of her seeing what she had going for her.

"But now, thanks to that serum, I have control of our body. I can make things right."

She stopped to give a true smile to Kish's still shocked face. She slowly ran her free hand through his silky hair.

"Kish, I can make you happy. I've still got Ichigo's body. You see," she grinned, "I can make sure she never comes back. We can start a life together, I love you so much, and you love her so much. We're pretty much the same, she and I. It'd be perfect. What d'ya say?"

What would he say indeed?


	20. Battle for Kish

Kish stared blankly at the figure before him. He was so lost. None of this made any sense.

The only coherent thought he could get out was, 'What. The. HECK?'

He was brought to by the sound of laughter. It was Chloe.

"Oh, you should see your face." She giggled. "It's so funny!"

He just stared blankly at her.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked, starting to get concerned.

"Yea, just. . . . . .Wow." he mumbled, still trying vainly to absorb this new information.

"It _is_ kind of weird, isn't it?" she smiled, nodding. "But I need an answer, Kish."

He paused and thought. Life with this girl _could_ almost be perfect. She and Ichigo were so similar. He then came upon his answer, and he nodded.

"Sorry Chloe. I can't go with you."

"What?" she gasped.

"I can't go with you." He repeated. "Or, well, rather I won't go with you."

"Why?" she could only seem to get one word out at a time.

"Because I want Ichigo."

"But I am Ichigo!"

"No, you're Ichigo's body." He corrected.

"What the hell's the difference!?" she snarled.

"I don't love Ichigo just for her body, though it is very nice." he smirked.

Chloe began to interrupt him, but Kish merely held up a hand and continued.

"I love Ichigo for who and what she is. Those ideals you think she's so stupid for? I admire them. I love her cunning, her bravery, even her clumsiness. I love Ichigo because she's _**Ichigo**_. No one else could ever take her place. No one could even come close. And that's that." He finished firmly.

By now Chloe was glowering at him, a thin growl coming deep from the back of her throat.

"How could you chose her!? She doesn't love you! She doesn't even _like_ you!" her voice became a furious screech near the end.

Kish flinched, but stayed determined. "I know. I still choose her."

"Not while _I_ live!" she hissed.

Suddenly her whole body went limp as her eyes and hair changed color rapidly.

"Chloe, what are you doing?" Kish asked in horror.

She mustered up enough strength to sneer at him. "I'm going to make sure you never see your precious kitty again."

He watched aghast as her eyes hollowed out and everything about her turned dismal and gray.

"Ichigo?" he called shaking her shoulder, only to draw his hand back in shocked terror. She was stone cold. He quickly scooped her up, his feet flying across his room towards Pie's lab.

'Oh God.' He thought. 'If she dies I won't ever forgive myself…'

Ichigo strained her ears trying desperately to catch more than just the occasional whiff of Chloe's and Kish's conversation. So far she had gathered:

" . .Wow."

"It _is_ kind of …?"

"Sorry Chloe… go with you."

"What?"

"I can't …..."

"… won't …with you."

"…..Ichigo."

"But I am ….!"

"No … body."

By now Ichigo was pacing, since it seemed she was helpless to do anything else. Suddenly the Chloe's voice came in loud and clear.

"How could you chose her!? She doesn't love you! She doesn't even _like_ you!"

"I know. I still choose her."

Ichigo's eyes widened as she paused to listen to the now heated argument. They were arguing about _her_?

"Not while _I_ live!" Chloe's voice suddenly hailed her.

And next thing she knew, Chloe was hurtling towards her, two daggers in hand.

Ichigo barely whipped out her strawberry bell in time to keep Chloe from stabbing her strait through the heart.

"What the hell!?" she yelled, quickly dancing back to avoid get impaled as Chloe lunged for her again.

"What in the name Earth is wrong with you!?"

"I will not let you have Kish!" she hissed, nothing but cold heartless hate evident on her face. For a second Ichigo was so shocked she forgot to keep dodging, but was quickly reminded as Chloe reached out to slash her.

"Hey, cool it!" Ichigo shouted. "It's not like I made him like me!"

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Chloe seethed. "I'm going to get rid of you once and for all!"

Ichigo let out an irritated growl before diving away in a very cat-like manner. "You're so dense!" she snapped. "You think killing me will make Kish like you? Ha!"

This comment nearly tipped Chloe off the edge. "It will!" she shrieked back, but something in her voice sounded a touch uncertain.

"Please!" Ichigo shot back. "Think about this. If loves me half as much as he claims to, which it would seem he does, killing me would only make him hate you!"

Chloe hesitated now. She still looked like she wanted to rip Ichigo's throat out, but her logic seemed to be winning out.

"Look," Ichigo said, relaxing slightly, "I'm sorry Kish likes me more than you but I can't help that. You love who you love, and you can't do a thing about it. If it'd make feel better, I'll try to keep an eye on him for you."

She held her breath now, waiting to see what her other half would do. Chloe approached, her gait slow and defeated. Ichigo's tense shoulders visibly slouched in relief. Chloe kept walking until she was nose to nose with the cat-eared girl, reaching at the last moment to firmly grasp her shoulders. Ichigo flinched as Chloe's claws dug hard into her skin. Chloe leaned forward so that her mouth touched Ichigo's ear and whispered, "You know you're an idiot, right?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as it suddenly hit what was happening. She desperately tried to squirm from her grasp, but Chloe's hold just tightened. Next thing she knew she was pinned to the ground, her other half straddling her and her hands pinned to her sides. Soon another set of clawed fingers were wrapped around her neck. Chloe was strangling her. She was going to die.


	21. Will she die?

Pie was startled out of his research and Tart from his picture book as Kish raced in. Pie's attention immediately caught on the mew his partner was holding. Her hair had turned to a sickly gray and she seemed to be just barely breathing.

"Kish. What happened?" Pie attempted to keep his voice steady, but it still shook. He had never seen Ichigo look so terrible, not even when she first arrived.

"There's no time to explain it all." Kish stated firmly, his voice surprisingly strong. "I can tell you though that it was caused by the serum. She needs help, and she needs it fast." Kish paused to hold Pie in a steady gaze with a shocking amount of determination lighting his eyes. "Pie, have you got another one of those shots?"

Pie nodded and quickly teleported out of the room. Kish sat down in the floor cradling Ichigo's still body to him.

"She's not going to die, is she?" Kish looked up to see Tart staring at him with fearful eyes.

"I don't know." He whispered. "Why?"

I don't want her to die." Tart mumbled.

Kish blinked in surprise.

"I mean," Tart stumbled quickly, "I don't really like her all that much. She's annoying! But…I wish she wouldn't die. It's too much like home."

Kish smiled sadly. "Yea, I know."

Pie then abruptly appeared in the room, causing both Kish's and Tart's head to whip in his direction. He silently held up a syringe. Kish nodded as he pushed his limp cat-girl into an upright position, holding out her arm for his elder. Pie took it and injected the needle and fluid into her arm. Just like last time she let out slight scream, her body convulsing in his arms. Then her eyes flickered open.

And they were the right color of brown.

(T.A: Okay, this part starts a little before the last one ended. Just so you don't get confused.)

Ichigo's eyes began to empty as she thought hazily, 'Huh. So this is how die. Weird, I kind of wish I could see Kish one last time.' Then, quite suddenly, she started to feel different, to change. It was like, to a degree, she was just dissolving away. And the weird thing, she **_was_**. Chloe let out furious shriek as she realized her hands were now closing on nothing.

"**_ICHIGO!_**"

Ichigo blinked. And blinked again. But she was still staring at Kish's pale face, his golden eyes fixed intensely upon her own.

"Ichigo?" he whispered, his voice showing that he was scared to believe she was really okay. "Ichigo, are you alright?"

Ichigo's face crumbled slightly as a few tears leaked out. She pushed herself up to wrap Kish in a fierce hug, whimpering slightly in relief.

"Oh God." She mumbled. "I thought I'd never see you again"

Kish encircled his arms around her and hugged back just as hard.

"Yea." He whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. "Me too."

In the background, Tart turned to Pie, tears silently dripping down his young face. Pie raised an eyebrow in question. In answer Tart hugged the older alien's legs letting out a quite wail of relief. Pie smiled slightly and patted his head. Their attention, however, was drawn back to Ichigo as she let out soft gasp, releasing Kish and clutching at her heart. Chloe was trying to get back out. She could feel it.

"C-can't f-fight it." She moaned.

Kish, for once instantly noticing what was happening, grabbed Ichigo's shoulders and gave her a slight shake.

"C'mon Ichigo!" he growled. "Resist her! You can do it! Please, I can't lose you again!"

She looked up to see all her pain and fear reflected back to her in his eyes.

"I'm trying K-Kish. I c-can't stop h-her."

Tears dripped down making her face a picture of misery.

"Ichigo!" Kish was wailing now as he gave her another shake. "There's got to be some way to stop this!"

Ichigo began to shake her head, but stopped midway.

Flash back

_"I think I found a way to cure this shot you got." Ryou stated, getting strait to the point._

_"Really?! How?"_

_"Well, this going to sound kind of corny, but, you need to give a true love's kiss."_

_"True love's kiss? Like in the old fairytales?"_

_"Exactly."_

_"How do I get a true love's kiss? Aoyama-kun's gone!"_

_"Actually, you have to give the kiss, not get the kiss."_

_"Nani?"_

_"This is how it works. You find the guy you're really in love with, no serum involved, and you have to kiss him. Really kiss him."_

End flash back

Ichigo paused to stare at Kish, losing all grip of what he was saying. 'I think I love him. I really do. But what if I'm wrong? And after what happened last time…..'

Ichigo took a deep breath. 'One way to find out!'

She reached up a hand to cradle his cheek.

"I-" Kish was cut short by her leaning forward and kissing him, kissing him as if her life depended on it. Which, come to think of it, it did. Kish for a second stared blankly having yet another 'what the heck is going on?' moment. But when he figured out what was happening he put his hand behind her neck and kissed her back. He kissed her with everything he had, all his passion, love, and need, knowing this could be the last time he ever got to do this. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but notice how soft and warm her lips were, and how nice it was to have her willingly kiss him. And she tasted sweet.

'Like strawberries' he added silently.

Her intoxicating sent was all around him, and if he could've had it his way, he would've stopped time in its tracks and stayed in this moment for eternity. Ichigo would've given anything for the same.

When Kish finally released her she sat back panting slightly, her eyes still half closed. Then they closed all the way and she went limp. Her breathing stilled as her body relaxed. And she was smiling.


	22. The End?

**{T.A: Sorry you had wait so long! First I had to pack, then move, then I had exams . . . Please forgive me for being away so long!}**

Pie was startled out of his research and Tart from his picture book as Kish raced in. Pie's attention immediately caught on the mew his partner was holding. Her hair had turned to a sickly gray and she seemed to be just barely breathing.

"Kish. What happened?" Pie attempted to keep his voice steady, but it still shook. He had never seen Ichigo look so terrible, not even when she first arrived.

"There's no time to explain it all." Kish stated firmly, his voice surprisingly strong. "I can tell you though that it was caused by the serum. She needs help, and she needs it fast." Kish paused to hold Pie in a steady gaze with a shocking amount of determination lighting his eyes. "Pie, have you got another one of those shots?"

Pie nodded and quickly teleported out of the room. Kish sat down in the floor cradling Ichigo's still body to him.

"She's not going to die, is she?" Kish looked up to see Tart staring at him with fearful eyes.

"I don't know." He whispered. "Why?"

I don't want her to die." Tart mumbled.

Kish blinked in surprise.

"I mean," Tart stumbled quickly, "I don't really like her all that much. She's annoying! But…I wish she wouldn't die. It's too much like home."

Kish smiled sadly. "Yea, I know."

Pie then abruptly appeared in the room, causing both Kish's and Tart's head to whip in his direction. He silently held up a syringe. Kish nodded as he pushed his limp cat-girl into an upright position, holding out her arm for his elder. Pie took it and injected the needle and fluid into her arm. Just like last time she let out slight scream, her body convulsing in his arms. Then her eyes flickered open.

And they were the right color of brown.

{T.A: Okay, this part starts a little before the last one ended. Just so you don't get confused.}

Ichigo's eyes began to empty as she thought hazily, 'Huh. So this is how die. Weird, I kind of wish I could see Kish one last time.' Then, quite suddenly, she started to feel different, to change. It was like, to a degree, she was just dissolving away. And the weird thing, she _**was**_. Chloe let out furious shriek as she realized her hands were now closing on nothing.

"_**ICHIGO!**_"

Ichigo blinked. And blinked again. But she was still staring at Kish's pale face, his golden eyes fixed intensely upon her own.

"Ichigo?" he whispered, his voice showing that he was scared to believe she was really okay. "Ichigo, are you alright?"

Ichigo's face crumbled slightly as a few tears leaked out. She pushed herself up to wrap Kish in a fierce hug, whimpering slightly in relief.

"Oh God." She mumbled. "I thought I'd never see you again"

Kish encircled his arms around her and hugged back just as hard.

"Yea." He whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. "Me too."

In the background, Tart turned to Pie, tears silently dripping down his young face. Pie raised an eyebrow in question. In answer Tart hugged the older alien's legs letting out a quite wail of relief. Pie smiled slightly and patted his head. Their attention, however, was drawn back to Ichigo as she let out soft gasp, releasing Kish and clutching at her heart. Chloe was trying to get back out. She could feel it.

"C-can't f-fight it." She moaned.

Kish, for once instantly noticing what was happening, grabbed Ichigo's shoulders and gave her a slight shake.

"C'mon Ichigo!" he growled. "Resist her! You can do it! Please, I can't lose you again!"

She looked up to see all her pain and fear reflected back to her in his eyes.

"I'm trying K-Kish. I c-can't stop h-her."

Tears dripped down making her face a picture of misery.

"Ichigo!" Kish was wailing now as he gave her another shake. "There's got to be some way to stop this!"

Ichigo began to shake her head, but stopped midway.

Flash back

"_I think I found a way to cure this shot you got." Ryou stated, getting strait to the point._

"_Really?! How?"_

"_Well, this going to sound kind of corny, but, you need to give a true love's kiss."_

"_True love's kiss? Like in the old fairytales?"_

"_Exactly."_

"_How do I get a true love's kiss? Aoyama-kun's gone!"_

"_Actually, you have to give the kiss, not get the kiss."_

"_Nani?"_

"_This is how it works. You find the guy you're really in love with, no serum involved, and you have to kiss him. Really kiss him."_

End flash back

Ichigo paused to stare at Kish, losing all grip of what he was saying. 'I think I love him. I really do. But what if I'm wrong? And after what happened last time…..'

Ichigo took a deep breath. 'One way to find out!'

She reached up a hand to cradle his cheek.

"I-" Kish was cut short by her leaning forward and kissing him, kissing him as if her life depended on it. Which, come to think of it, it did. Kish for a second stared blankly having yet another 'what the heck is going on?' moment. But when he figured out what was happening he put his hand behind her neck and kissed her back. He kissed her with everything he had, all his passion, love, and need, knowing this could be the last time he ever got to do this. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but notice how soft and warm her lips were, and how nice it was to have her willingly kiss him. And she tasted sweet.

'Like strawberries' he added silently.

Her intoxicating sent was all around him, and if he could've had it his way, he would've stopped time in its tracks and stayed in this moment for eternity. Ichigo would've given anything for the same.

When Kish finally released her she sat back panting slightly, her eyes still half closed. Then they closed all the way and she went limp. Her breathing stilled as her body relaxed. And she was smiling.

A blinding light shattered into the room, causing the aliens to grimace and cover their eyes. Kish cringed slightly at its brilliance. The light was almost painful. Suddenly he felt Ichigo's weight lifted from his lap. He brought his arm down and forced his dazzled eyes to focus in an attempt to understand what was happening. And this is what he saw:

Ichigo was suspended on her back in the air, seemingly transparent in the light's powerful rays. The light snaked up and around her as if it was alive, occasionally pausing to curl through her body. If it hurt, Ichigo didn't show it. Soon the ray was at her head and poised above as if a cobra about to strike.

And when it did strike, it hurtled down her throat and filled her lungs making her gasp. Her chest heaved. And heaved again. She now seemed to be shedding the beautiful light from within her, it slowly escaping in her every breath.

Then Ichigo's soft ebony appendages began to give off a hazy blue glow. Her ears twitched. Then disappeared. Her tail flicked. Then vanished. The light finally came rushing out of her in a flurry of crazed glows. Ichigo dropped from her suspended position and Kish reached out just in time to catch her.

Her eyes remained closed and her breathing steady as if she was in a deep sleep.

Kish had never seen her look so good. The dark circles around her eyes were gone. Her skin was back to its soft peach tone. And she was smiling. She always looked so pretty when she smiled.

Kish looked up at the whispered "Wow." Of Tart. "As in, like, _**wow**_." He repeated eyes wide.

Kish smiled slightly and nodded. Pie did too. "Wow indeed. Kish, I think it is time for our patient to return home now."

Kish nodded again. He slowly stood up, being careful not to jar his cargo, and began to teleport to a very familiar bright pink room. He gently laid Ichigo on her bed. And her eyes snapped right open.

Ichigo looked on at Kish with clear eyes for what seemed like the first time in a millennium to him. She blinked and tilted her head to the side in an, oh so cute way. She peered around her room curiously, seeming to find it hard to believe she was where she thought she was.

"Where…?"

"Your room kitten. Pie says you're all fixed, so you can resume life as per usual."

Ichigo sat up and just gazed around her for a moment. Then she pumped her fists in the air, triumphantly exclaiming, "I'm alive! **YES**!"

Kish chuckled. 'She's so adorable.' He thought happily. He then leaned towards her, a slight smirk on his face.

"So. Wanna kiss again?"

Ichigo crossed her arms over her chest and snorted, turning her head away. "Oh please Kish." She scoffed. "Do you really think I kissed you 'cause I wanted to?"

"Huh?" Kish stuttered, the classic world renowned look of denied confusion painting his features. Ichigo almost laughed. But instead she kept her haughty tone.

'Payback' she thought.

"It was merely for survival. Now out!" she pointed to her window.

"But Kitty…"

"Out!" she exclaimed.

Kish pulled the puppy dog look on her as he floated out. As he prepared to teleport, Ichigo leaned out her window and yelled, "But I don't hate you!"

She quickly slipped back into her room and closed her window under Kish's surprised gaze. Kish thought about what she had just said. And suddenly, it sunk in. He couldn't prevent a giddy grin that came across his mouth, and I seriously suspect he wouldn't have even tried. He pumped a fist in the air and let out a whoop, dissolving and leaving behind only a few whiffs of slightly hysterical laughter.

In her room, Ichigo grinned too.

'And they all lived happily ever after.' She thought.

The End?


End file.
